Hola everyone~ We have been planning to do a tag since that collab on the Supercell ED of Nisemonogatari. Finally, it’s that time and what a wonderful episode to do it than the beginning of Tsukihi-arc? Yep, let the perversion begin!

I’d be lying if I told you I knew what Shaft has in store for us to start Tsukihi Phoenix. What I can tell you is that, if the adaptation up to now is any indication, I believe we are in for quite the spectacle.

Oh right, Koyomi had this whole other little sister who was also supposed to play heroine.

Since this is the start of a new arc with a new heroine, so Koyomi gives us a quick reintroduction to his younger, “hysteric” little sister. Wait, did he say that she’s immortal? Oh look, a new OP for Tsukihi.

It’s morning, a little past 7 o’clock, 2 weeks after the events of last episode, and Koyomi is busy trying to study. But his efforts are for naught, since Karen comes stomping in and asks him if he could use her help in anything. He insists that there’s nothing she can do for him right now, but Karen is clingy. Then Koyomi turns around to see his little sister in types of clothes he hasn’t seen her in in years. Karen stole her little sister’s clothes to look cute for him, but Koyomi can’t believe that she would do that voluntarily and threatens to get whoever is bullying her. Karen is offended and mentions that comments like that lead her almost to suicide in elementary school, but she becomes happy and clingy again when he tells her she’s indeed cute.

Karen’s the type to take everything to 110%. So her newfound closness with her brother…

This is when Koyomi compares her to Kanbaru Suruga – not the first time he’s done that – leading to the reveal of Karen’s true motive: to get him to introduce them! As the former basketball star, she is still very popular with the underclassmen, some of whom have started a web zine stalking her, taking photos of her stalking Koyomi. This conveniently explains how Karen knows that he’s pretty tight with her. The little sister even prostrates before him, but Koyomi, knowing all too well of Suruga’s less publicized tendencies, has no intention of letting the 2 come into contact. He actually kicks her in the face for offering him her virginity, hard enough to send her flying onto his bed. And once Karen realizes that her older brother won’t be helpful, her mood changes completely, this time threatening him with violence.

To resolve the situation peacefully, Koyomi suggests playing a game of his choice for it. But since this will be for her benefit, he will be heavily favored in this game. Karen accepts, and Koyomi goes to the bathroom for the necessary supplies: Karen’s toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. He explains that, like someone else touching your hair, someone else brushing your teeth will be uncomfortable. She only has to bear with it for 5 minutes and he’ll introduce her to Kanbaru. So in it goes.

Our hero has some fun teasing his little sister.

Karen thinks nothing of it and is confident that she can pass it easily. Of course, Koyomi has an ace up his sleeve: what he hasn’t told her is that besides discomfort, she will also feel pleasure. Indeed, this was a fetish he had learned from the perverted Kanbaru Suruga herself. How fitting for Karen to be defeated by it. And the way she reacts, he’s spot on, but she’s stronger than he expected. Somehow, she manages to keep holding on, making Koyomi put in extra effort.

Even Koyomi is shocked at the depths he can sink to.

But wait, has he not thought his plan through? Why does Karen look so darn cute right now? He can’t keep his eyes off of her. This isn’t good, Koyomi is starting to get excited. Karen is accepting, and these siblings just might do something that can never be undone, when…

Our lovebirds caught in the act. The left out sibling is not amused.

The youngest Araragi sibling steps in through the door Koyomi had left ajar, asking what’s going on. Caught with their pants down, the older siblings try to play dumb, acting as if they weren’t aware of what they were doing – which is true in a way, I guess. Tsukihi thinks for a second before declaring that she’ll be right back with some very sharp instruments she’ll pick up at the store. This gives an escape opportunity for the 2, and Karen points out that it’s actually been 15 minutes, well past the agreed upon time. Koyomi will have to introduce his little sister to Kanbaru. But in the meanwhile, the siblings feel oddly drawn to continue this game… maybe she should stick it in him next time…

A line, once crossed, becomes much, much easier to cross again…

My Little Sister Can’t Be Th- you know how it goes.

“It’s okay… you can do it…”

My little sister can’t be this… deadly serious!?

Karen achieving an immense physical feat. Same art style as the part in the bath with Shinobu when she and Koyomi were both facing the camera.

Due to Karen’s height, even a regular skirt looks like a miniskirt. (Click for full image)

HOLY FFFFFFFUUUU—What did I just watch and then rewatch?! No wonder this is called the pornography of the season. Tastefully and liltingly so done, I might add. Every episode is just filled with smex, smex and some more sex. Thing is, it would have worked if this was an actual porno movie but NE-YO! it’s a clever anime touching all the unknown borders with the committed Koyomi as main protag-kun having fun with his little sisters. Pedobear! You can almost feel NisiOisin laughing perversely in the background (more so after reading lvlln’s translation of his note for Karen Bee), and Shinbo doing his shafty thing with the usual crew quite gleefully. Compared to this, Bakemonogatari seems like kid’s play. Every episode is filled with surprises and character revelations that would boggle your mind. It has literally become crack for watcher, who addictively push that play button every week and chug out steam from their noses and ears. The banter on twitter is nonstop.

Previously, Koyomi talked about justice and the concept of fake but what the hell was he even doing this episode? I’m sure it all started with teaching his sister a lesson (he so loved stepping on her >.>), and to give a Kanbaru-taste to her so that she would stay away from any kind of tutelage. But who would have thought that things would progress towards a KissxSis episode…?! At least Tsukihi was there to interrupt the excitement even if the world boo’d in response. I was expecting this episode to center around her but no, we got even more fanservice from Karen. Yep, they almost crossed that taboo border and seriously, “This time, how about you do me?” Oh Koyomi, your level of perversion would always be out of bounds. I must add that Kamiyan has bettered his Koyomi through time. From erratic breathing to high-pitch transition during a sentence was quite enjoyable (“doki-doki tsuru!”); not to mention that cracked voice of excitement… Coughs. He can definitely take you on a trip. Solid voice acting from Eri Kitamura and Yuka Iguchi as well (wasn’t that Onii-haan and Karen-haan adorably cuuute?!) even if it was just after some scary music?

Introduction of Tsukihi in between all that climaxing was like the activation of alarm that rings in annoyingly in an ascending fashion. The expression, the dialogue delivery and the identical reactions from Karen and Koyomi were too funny for words. It was literally like someone turned on the light when you are in the middle of your business, ruining the mood, yet making the whole damn situation funny because you are in a ridiculous position. Will the remaining three episodes do justice to this firecracker of a sister, who can give Speedy Gonzales a run for his money? At least lvlln thinks so and I hope he’s damn right because I definitely don’t want a rushed episode like seven. I hope to see more misconstrued justice and delicious fanservice. Hey, we all know what we signed up for!

Music wise, Shaft has hit a jackpot with Nisemonogatari because NONE of the songs are boring, not even near it. From Senjougahara’s to Karen’s and now Tsukihi’s Opening, all are perfect and in-character. Tsukihi’s might actually be up there, near Renai Circulation, which was literally cute as cuddly bunnies. The traditional and oldies touch to it quite suits the yukata-donning sister and even if you don’t see her fiery side like we did for Karen’s Bee, I’m sure her Phoenix side is going to be a handful and sweetly so, just like her adorable smile. I’ll believe Koyomi when he said her anger is even worse than Karen and I can’t wait to see her go batshit crazy in the next episodes. I mean, seriously, somebody needs to be punished because her dear sister and brother didn’t include her in their fun!

Well, well, well, we finally got to unwrap the covers off that scene, the one we all knew we couldn’t avoid with this show. Whatever level of fanservice Nisemonogatari displayed before, it just blew right past it, laughing at what a prude it had been in the past. And I was laughing too, pretty much continually throughout the 2nd half. What a joy it was to watch, what delightful absurdity. The classical waltz in the background adding an extra layer of crazy as these siblings danced with one another, hardly able to control their bodies. The closeups to bristles hitting gum, teeth, and tongue, the difficult moaning of the brushee as she fought to hold on – this was the sexiest, funniest, most unforgettable depiction of personal hygiene in this show so far. And a new secret for just the 2 older Araragi siblings to share between them – again and again in the future, based on their exchange at the end of the episode.

In visuals, this episode showed Shaft’s quirks at some of their wackiest. The manga art in the cold open for Tsukihi’s reintroduction was a curious choice as that’s one medium this work hasn’t been made in. The heavy use of super deformed facial expressions helped to add to the insanity that made the episode so fun to watch. It feels like the Fire Sisters get many more such scenes than the other heroines; it must be in the blood. I enjoyed seeing Tsukihi’s Looney Tunes moment, something we haven’t seen since Nadeko fled Tsubasa in a panic in Tsubasa Cat Part 1 of Bakemonogatari. Also, I think I saw a couple of the longest and slowest fanservice pan ups that Shaft has ever done.

I had been wondering what kind of music would be used for Tsukihi’s opening – the series has used bits of pop, rock, rap, and ska for its openings before – and it turned out to be a pretty catchy pop song with a traditional Japanese style. Worked well for Tsukihi’s traditional image. And the animation was as good as is usual from Shaft. I especially liked the part showing Tsukihi spinning around constantly changing in appearance (Tsukihi has the tendency of changing her hair style frequently, never going more than 3 months without a switch – while Karen hasn’t changed her hair style since entering middle school).

The relatively minute amount of material covered took me by surprise. The whole thing could accurately be called one long scene. I thought this scene would get a half episode, but no, those 30 minutes got to take up a full slot. Hey, the episode was almost real-time, wasn’t it? The lone exception being in that scene when Koyomi lost track of the time. Will Tsukihi’s full arc fit into the 3 episodes we have left? The novel actually started off in the afternoon of the same day, and this scene was told later in flashback form, so I had expected to see them in the afternoon to start, but I guess that will be next week. We’re in for some more wacky – though decidedly less perverted – antics between these two siblings up ahead.

On a more serious note, Karen was notably open to Koyomi about her thoughts of suicide during elementary school, clearly meant to show them growing closer the end of her arc (though it was overshadowed by another display of them being very close). The parallels between her and Suruga came to their logical conclusion, with the former now set to meet with and hopefully be taught by the latter. Just what is Koyomi in for in this combination of 2 carefree and violent girls? Oh yeah, and Tsukihi is supposed to be the heroine this time, so what’s she going to be up to other than buying sharp tools? What about Koyomi’s throwaway comment in the cold open about her being immortal (how literal is the “Phoenix” in the title)?

But for now, who cares? This episode was an aside, a crazy, wonderful, hilarious aside, the combination of Nisio and Shaft at its most insane and perverted. I wouldn’t want this show any other way.

Dear god, this episode of Nisemonogatari. I’ve heard about the toothbrush scene being legendary at all, but this… this… just takes the freaking cake and eats it so thoroughly nothing was left behind. I am never underestimating the power of oral sex hygiene anymore. Not after this GLORIOUS EPISODE.

Thanks a lot, SHAFT. Thanks for speaking out against all the faux incest shows. This is how you get close to your sister. *nods head* If they continue this later on with just Koyomi and Karen, they should call it “Imoutomonogatari”. “I’ll give you my virginity, Nii-chan” Oh shi—-!! ; “You’re going to stick that toothbrush up my butt?!” Oh…. shi- I didn’t think of that!!

OMG, I need a cold shower or something. I don’t know who’s worse Nisio Isin for coming up with this, the artists for drawing it, or me for enjoying it. So we’re in Tsukihi’s story and the first episode is almost entirely Karen. That was hilarious, especially the end. I laughed my ass off when Karen went for two out of three. Who knew tooth decay prevention could be so erotic? Someone’s bound to create an eroge with this as a theme.

OMG, I wonder what Shinobu was experiencing/thinking?

While the visuals were certainly top-notch, the BGM in the episode greatly contributed to the sense of euphoria, especially during the climax scene with the BGM going on a crescendo to accompany it. Not to mention they chose to put in a classical-type BGM in it. IT WAS GLORIOUS. Man, I am thankful Tsukihi walked in on them. I know they would’ve crossed the threshold. Well I guess they probably did at the end anyways. BEST OF THREE!! BEST OF THREE!! BEST OF THREE!! BEST OF THREE!! BEST OF THREE!!

Yes, this episode featured some of the best use of classical music I’ve seen in anime recently. The waltz was an integral component of that scene, and it threatened to take the spotlight when it was nearing the climax.

In fact, I’d say the music overall has been one of the biggest standouts of this show, mainly for the sheer variety. The BGM wasn’t something that Bakemonogatari was remembered for, and Nisemonogatari has improved from that quite a bit.

Tsukihi Arc begins with a Karen appearance? Hahaha, this episode made me laugh so much, and damn, I felt I crossed a line too the moment I saw them start their toothbrush contest…funny but not applicable in RL…I mean, there’s a line and I think for everyone who watched this…this episode just threw us well over it 😛

Ah but so much win with Karen’s different look; Araragi-kun. Why can you not sure your harem with the rest of us? I’ll take Shinobu thanks!

I see the similarities to Renai Circulation. Tsukihi dancing in all those kimonos and different hairstyles was very cute. I think Satoru Kousaki did a good job composing for Yuka Iguchi’s voice; I haven’t heard her sing much, but she has an almost squeaky very high pitched voice, so I wasn’t sure how well she’d pull off singing the OP.

Lol, which one? Hard to believe, but there are currently 4 anime airing this season for which Supercell has done OP or ED themes: Nisemonogatari, Shakugan no Shana Final, Black Rock Shooter, and Guilty Crown. I didn’t mean to, but I think I listed them in order of quality, though there’s a sharp drop off after the 1st and 2nd in that list.

I think I agree with your ordering (haven’t watched BRS, so can’t comment there). I was referring to GC, which I had really high expectations going in. It’s like expecting candy for Halloween and getting some celery sticks instead. I’m sure the nice lady meant well, but really?

Shinobu is sitting on her couch, her knees drawn up to her face (use the same attention to frame as previous shots).

Monologue Internal: “Ka Ka. Too achieve a result in not telling him the fire-wreathe bee was an illusion all the while was interesting, to witness the indirect results is….fascinating. No need to feel bored the rest of my existence”

Um… um… with all my hate for incest, I can’t deny the toothbrushing scene was hot. Thank you Nisemono for presenting really high quality pornography. All I can think about right now is oral sex.
I have to agree, Kamiyan’s Araragi started to shine in Nisemono. I love how he changes this little tones in his voice. Every gasp is different. Besides, I think Kamiyan is one of few people that “running” gasps feel like the’re really running, not having an orgasm. On the other hand once I listend to some BL drama CD with him as an uke having an orgasm… omg. I believe the link was from Meta.

I know a lot of fans have become pro-porn just by watching this series. Oh dear lord.

Hahaa, and I’ve heard enough of his uke to tell you that his variation is excellent (I think you are referring to that BL podcast?). Not everyone can do deep voiced (Mephisto), evil voice (Izaya), manry hero voice (Koyomi), shounen boy (Natsume), nutter teacher (Itoshiki) to many variations of uke like Kamiyan. He’s a legendary seiyuu for a reason. :3

[…] tools to be used that would be unacceptable in most other media. Where else can you see an erotic brother-sister toothbrushing scene? Or an entire 1/3 of an episode dedicated to characters speaking in babble while subtitles […]

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